


Entwined

by tainry



Category: Slayers (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Body Dysphoria, M/M, PWP, gonna call this briefly dub-con just to be safe, non-gender-based dysphoria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:46:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6079836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tainry/pseuds/tainry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zel has nightmares, Gourry comforts him the way his old merc buddies taught him to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Entwined

**Author's Note:**

> Zel is tired but not intoxicated, and goes along with Gourry's seduction more or less on autopilot, but if that pushes consent issues buttons do steer clear. Later it's obvious that Zel is enjoying himself.
> 
> Also, Zel hates his own body rather significantly, so I'm alerting for dysphoria.

Mist rolled and turned heavily in the lazy air. A golden, full moon looked down on the bayou, making lace of the tangled vines and hanging moss, mangrove roots and ferns. Frog-song, crickets, and the occasional whoop of flying snakes chorused around Zelgadis as he walked along the path to his favorite reading tree. His mother had given him some bread and cheese in a cloth, knowing her only child would likely be reading well into the night by the candle-stubs he saved; tomorrow was a rest-day. Clear streams were easy enough to find among the bogs and fens, and the boy had an almost uncanny knack for avoiding the large reptile predators that lurked in some places. 

As he walked, the old book he carried -- some dusty old copy of the Claire Bible -- got heavier and heavier. He clasped it in both arms as the trees grew thicker and the mist deepened. The path disappeared into a marble floor; he was in a vast hall, tree-pillared, and the setting sun turned the air bloody. The book, too heavy now to lift, dropped from his numb fingers into a black pool, sinking beyond sight like a stone. Zel cried out and grasped after it vainly, brushing aside the moss-covered vines that held him back. The buzz of magic in the air was making him dizzy. Mother said to run away whenever he felt that buzz. If it got strong, it might make him do something bad again. If it got too strong, it might mean Grandfather was near. 

He tried to run, but it was like running underwater; he fought and fought only to get a few slow steps away before the laughter began. And the chimes. Metal rings on the metal staff, chiming, approaching, louder and louder with each footfall, though Grandfather’s footsteps made no sound at all. Soft, low laughter. It was beautiful to hear; wonderful and fell. Zel’s feet had sunk into the floor. 

_No…no, not again…_ But the ringing of the staff and the laughter came closer, like it always did. And he never got away. Never. Grandfather came, the red mist part of his robes, part of him. Zel’s mouth was open but he couldn’t speak, could barely get enough air; the Red Priest was taking it all, drawing it in. Arms spread, red silk billowing, and then there were two Grandfathers, two Rezos, two red cloaks wildly blowing in the rushing wind. Then there were four. Eight. Sixteen. Rezos stretched back into the darkness, too many to count; no matter how many Zel killed, there would always be scores and scores of them, more and more all the time, softly laughing. And still Zel couldn’t scream.

A huge hand reached down from the darkness above. It plucked him from the floor, brought him up to a gaping mouth, ringed with white teeth as long as his forearm. Zel looked into the ruby eyes of hell – again. The hand brought him closer, tipped him back so that he only saw the moss-hung blackness. There was a sharp tug on his right leg, then the feeling of something pulling free. Somehow, he reached down, despite the hand’s grip on his entire body, and touched his leg. He moved slowly down, past the knee, down the shin, then nothing…wait, tatters of suede; his pants. Hot liquid splashed his fingers. Something knobby and smooth, surrounded by heavy, half-stone flesh and shreds of stone skin. The pain hit him at the same time as the realization that his foot was gone. At last he could scream; as the hand brought him up to the mouth again, its grip shifting. He felt every tooth sink into him, cracking him; across his chest and hips, snapping his spine. Then the tongue came up, crushing him, smashing his middle into a thick jelly…

Zel screamed and collapsed on the drenched pine-needles of the forest floor. Freezing rain pounded him as he curled on his side, sobbing and gasping for breath. Gourry rushed forward and knelt beside him, tentatively putting a hand on the chimera’s shoulder.

“Zel! Zel? Are you awake now? Are you all right?”

“Gourry…?” Zel hid his face in his hands for a moment, then with a last shudder, managed to stop the tears at least, though his breath was harder to catch. He sat up and looked around at the forest. Pine forest, not the old bayou… The lights of the inn nearby shone through the rain. “What are we doing out here?”

“You were sleepwalking,” Gourry said, his sapphire eyes wide and worried. “Grandmother said it was terrible to wake someone who’s sleepwalking, so I just followed to make sure you were okay. Are you okay?”

Zel swallowed hard and nodded. Gourry’s hand never left his shoulder; a spot of warmth where his whole body was now as cold as the rain. Zel reached up and touched it; it was such a strange sensation. Then he sighed dully and stood. 

Gourry stepped back a little and watched him carefully. Zel looked up at him and Gourry bit his lip. _His eyes!_ That hag-ridden, harrowed expression was all too familiar to a merc. “C’mon, Zel. Let’s get inside.” The two ran for the safety and warmth of the inn. 

Once they were in their room, Gourry stoked up the fire in the grate. “You should get out of those soaked clothes before you catch a cold.”

Zel stood by the door, dripping, and inclined to stay that way. But he acquiesced anyway. Indulging Gourry was kind of nice. The swordsman didn’t make demands or even requests very often. “You can’t get a cold just from being out in the rain.”

“Of course you can. And pneu… pneunomina. And leg cramps.” Gourry stripped hastily, leaving his sodden pajamas over the back of a chair, and stood as close to the fire as he could.

Zel pulled off his pajama top and hung it up on a peg. “Did your Grandmother tell you that, too?” He couldn’t decide between amusement and irritation, and therefore couldn’t muster either. Gourry wasn’t looking at him. He slowly stepped out of the pajama bottoms and hung those up as well. He dried off with a muttered spell, crawled into his disarranged bed and tried to straighten the blankets. The coldness of his body didn’t much bother him. The dream did, though. That nightmare had gone farther than they usually did. He’d had nightmares more or less regularly since he was fourteen; since Rezo had changed him. They had eased for a while after Rezo had been killed; and now the Copy was dead as well – even a body to bury. (A small, gibbering part of his mind had wanted to behead the body, just to be sure; and he had pulled back the shroud they’d made of Rezo’s cloak, to see the face a last time before it disappeared, forever he hoped, beneath spadefulls of earth..) Zel had thought the dreams would finally fade. But they had gotten worse. 

Gourry turned at the rustling of Zel rearranging his bedding. “Zel?” Zel pulled the blankets up to his chin. Gourry blinked and approached him, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting a hand to the chimera’s cheek. “Zel! You’re freezing! Come sit by the fire and warm up at least.”

Zel didn’t slap the hand away, but he turned his back, huddling more under the covers. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does too matter,” Gourry said stubbornly, grabbing Zel’s arm and hauling him bodily to the fireside. 

Zel crouched there, motionless. 

“Captain Edra told us the best way to warm someone up is body heat,” Gourry said, kneeling behind and wrapping his arms around him. Or a warm bath, but he didn’t mention that. Zel held very still, but a slow blush spread over his face. “It’d be better if we had more than one person, but I guess you’ll have to make do with just me and the fire. Brrr!” Gourry shivered but held him tighter.

Zel brought his hands up as if to throw Gourry off. “You’re just making yourself cold.” But then the chimera sighed and slumped, bowing his head, letting his hands fall limply into his lap. _It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. I can’t escape anyway. I never can…_ He squeezed his eyes tightly shut. 

Gourry tipped his head forward, mindful of Zel’s pointed ear, and sharper hair. He pulled Zel in a little more, so he was sitting between the swordsman’s legs. It was like holding a block of ice. But ice shaped like a man… Gourry’s teeth began to chatter.

Zel pulled away at the sound, leaning forward onto his hands. “I’m all right, Gourry; leave me alone.”

Gourry bit his lips. _You’re not all right. You’re freezing. And…and lonely. And you have nightmares all the time, but I’ve never seen you sleepwalk and then wake up screaming and crying like that! What can I do?_ He reached forward and placed his hands on Zel’s upper arms, trying to pull him back into his embrace. “Zel…” He moved forward a little, putting one arm back around him. He looked down and noticed the curve between Zel’s rather slender neck, and the well-defined shoulder. Zel wasn’t brawny, like he himself was, but... _But Ardhan was a little guy too. And Ardhan…knew things… Maybe I know a way to warm Zel up after all. If I can do it without him fireballing me into next week…_ He scooted closer again, determined this time not to let his teeth chatter, no matter how cold he got. 

“Captain Edra,” Gourry began, pretending Zel had asked, “is the leader of the Spunhawks; a mercenary troop famous in Eleven Kingdoms. I worked with them for a couple of years before I met Lina. And you.” He gave Zel a little squeeze, though Zel didn’t compress particularly. “She taught us all about surviving and stuff. In cold places and hot places, just wherever we might end up, in case we got separated or something. It was pretty neat. Did you know that I can cook fish better than Lina? She eats the whole thing, though, guts and tails and all; it’s kinda gross. Anyway, Captain Edra always made sure all her people were taken care of before she bedded down herself. It doesn’t sound like much, but it really impresses you. None of us were expendable, and we knew it.” He slowly chafed Zel’s arms, finding it difficult, now that he was finally touching the chimera, to keep his hands from wandering. And his mind… _What was I saying…?_ “Um. So, anyway, Captain…um… Edra was really great… And the guys, the troops, they were really good guys to have at your back…in a fight. And Ardhan…he was a really good friend of mine. Taught me a lot of things. I kinda miss him sometimes.” He moved to Zel’s legs; the fire still hadn’t made much progress against the chill, but Gourry supposed Zel was like a thick castle wall; it took a lot of heat to warm him up once he was this icy.

“Was he killed?”

“Hm? Oh. Um. No. I just didn’t like fighting in other people’s wars all the time, so I left. But he’s still with the Spunhawks far as I know. Lieutenant, I think, by now. I guess we’d still be friends if I went back. He…showed me a lot about being friends.” He rubbed at Zel’s chest, feeling the oddly magnified thumping of the heartbeat, deliberately avoiding the little pebbly nipples. He knew once he fell to that temptation…well, he’d be committed, one way or another. 

Zel was only half listening. He wanted to let his head fall back against Gourry’s shoulder, but he’d stab the swordsman with his hair. _He’s only trying to warm me up…but now I know why cats like to be petted so much._ No one ever touched him…not like this. He found himself relaxing, the terror of the dream fading. When he’d been little, his father used to rub his back when he had bad dreams. _Father. Mother… Gods, I haven’t really thought of them in… I don’t want to think about them. Just keep talking, Gourry, please…_ “What was he like?”

“Ardhan? Um. Well. He was small and quick, with his hands and his mouth. He grinned and laughed a lot, always wisecracking. You’d think it’d get him in trouble, but it didn’t. Everybody knew he didn’t mean any harm, except to anybody trying to kill him, I mean. In battle and stuff. He was really nice to me. Didn’t call me stupid or anything.”

“Ah,” Zel murmured. “He saw through your act, too, then.”

Gourry blinked, then chuckled, moving his hands up to rub the sides of Zel’s neck. His skin seemed a little warmer now, though Gourry’s front had gone a bit numb, so he wasn’t sure. Talking about Ardhan, while holding Zel… His arousal and the cold were battling in his body, but Gourry had the feeling his desire was going to win pretty soon. _But make sure he’s all right, first…_ “Aw, it’s not really an act, you know.”

Zel turned and looked at him. “All right. Maybe not an ‘act’ as such. Your overtly forthright manner, then.”

Gourry scratched his cheek and gazed at the ceiling for a moment. “I guess so…” Now that Zel was sort of facing him, Gourry took the chimera’s hands and rubbed them between his vigorously, bringing them up to his mouth to blow on them. 

Some part of Zel found that oddly charming, particularly upon reflection, later. But, for now, he was both craving sleep and fighting it. And he wanted to keep Gourry talking. While they two shared companionable silences often enough – a relief from the girls’ chatter – getting the swordsman into an actual conversation was unusual. He maneuvered himself into a more comfortable, cross-legged position, with his back to the fire now, and watched Gourry work on his hands and arms. “What weapons did he use?”

Gourry almost choked, but recovered in time. _Whoa! He’s really out of it. Does he remember he’s naked?_ His own legs were still stretched out to either side, Zel in between… “Ah-Ardhan? Um. Long…sword… He said he needed the reach.” He cleared his throat and swallowed. “And a long…um, main gauche instead of a shield. Like I said, he was fast.”

“Hmmm…” Zel let his head drop forward slightly as Gourry’s hands moved up his arms to his shoulders, then cupped his face, warming his cheeks. “Longsword-main gauche combination, plus speed. Pendhaligon School?” _Stay awake, Graywords…_

“Yeah… I think so…” Gourry leaned forward.

“Was he from Arborviridia, then? That’s where that School of swordplay is most commonly taught…” Zel opened his eyes, not remembering having closed them, and found Gourry’s face a bare inch from his own, the vivid blue eyes glowing with an unfamiliar but intense expression. “And the name…Ardhan…sounds Arbor… vir… idian… to me… uh… Gourry? Your hands are… hot?”

Gourry kissed him. 

_Oh, Zel…_ It was sweet, that first brushing of lips; just a light touch, but Gourry felt as if his whole body had been lit up from within. He pulled the unresisting chimera close into the circle of his arms, the cool, stone body against his heating him further. It had been so long… he missed Ardhan’s rough, playful kisses; he wanted Zel right now… someone strong, someone his own strength couldn’t hurt… He stroked Zel’s shoulders and back, sliding his hands down to his waist, nuzzling the chimera’s cheek with open, hungered mouth. _I’m not toast yet – maybe a good sign…_ Gourry pulled back and looked at him. Zel’s eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. “Zel?”

“Hm?” He opened his eyes; more puzzled than anything else, though maybe he was a little dizzy.

_Boy, can I understand that!_ Gourry smiled fondly and cradled the smaller man close again. “I used to have nightmares, too. Back when I first joined the Spunhawks. It took me a long time to get used to the smell of so much blood, even though I grew up on a farm. And it isn’t just the blood, you know, when people are hacking each other to bits.”

Zel shuddered. Gourry’s past wasn’t something he’d considered much. He knew the big blond had been a merc, and by his manner of speech was obviously a country boy. He also knew what Gourry was trying to do, talking about his own nightmares. _Don’t you dare presume to know what my life has been like! Don’t condescend…! But this is Gourry…he’s not…_ He was too tired to muster any real anger. And Gourry’s hands were on him, gently moving, stroking, petting…soothing… Slowly, Zel turned his face in toward Gourry’s broad shoulder; slower still lifted a hand to rest against the muscular chest. 

Gourry brushed wire hair aside and kissed his temple. “Ardhan helped me forget the scary stuff,” he whispered. “All that matters right now is right now.”

Zel shivered again. “I don’t want to talk about it, Gourry.”

Gourry put his hands on Zel’s shoulders and pushed him down onto the floor, halfway onto the hearth. “Good,” the big man growled. “Talk later. Want you now!” He entwined their fingers and kissed him, harder this time, pressing his mouth open, tasting the mortal tongue behind the stone lips. _Still cold…cold inside him… Dammit…_

Zel lay beneath him, gasping, storm-taken; Gourry a fury of hands and mouth, teeth and tongue, hot, supple skin and long silky hair swirling over and under and into him, tangling in his legs, in his stiff hair, catching on the plates of his stony hide. Still gentle somehow, unless that was his own imperviousness. But he saw that Gourry watched his eyes, was careful not to force him. _Anything…anything you want…just let me not_ think… Gourry’s fierce mouth and gentle hands moved down his narrow body; Zel bared his teeth. The hot tongue circled his navel, wound a path across his slender hips, hot hands caressed his thighs, then pushed his legs apart.

_Wake up, Zel. Wake the fire inside you._ Gourry nearly wept with frustration; Zel lay passive under him; panting but unaroused, and no spark of understanding in his dimmed, green-blue eyes. _I want_ all _of you…wake up!_ He breathed warmth over Zel’s flesh, the moisture condensing, forming droplets, shimmering in the firelight. Gourry bowed his head further and licked them off. Slowly savoring Zel’s uniqueness. He heard the chimera’s sudden intake of breath, felt him sit up abruptly, and long-fingered hands touch his shoulders and hair. He shifted position slightly as Zel’s cock rose, pulsing, growing inside his mouth, though Gourry noticed it had been hard before, just peculiarly pliant. Zel leaned back, bracing himself with his hands as his hips lifted of their own accord, and Gourry drew on him, licking and sucking more fervently, petting the soft undersides of his buttocks and thighs. A new taste flowed across Gourry’s tongue; metallic but strangely sweet. Zel’s back and neck arched, straining taut, his legs trembling, his hands gouging furrows in the floor.

_Those… are going to be hard to explain… At least he’s warm, now._ Gourry disengaged enough to look down at the gathering beads of thick, opalescent fluid at Zel’s tip. In the flickering firelight it was hard to tell, but the swordsman thought it was actually glowing faintly. _This I gotta see!_

Gourry scrambled to his feet and tugged at the chimera’s hand. “Zel, bed…?” The high, solid footboard of Zel’s bed would provide enough darkness, he was pretty sure.

Zel blinked up at him unsteadily, his eyes lambent in the shadows that the fire behind him made of his face. “Mmm?”

Gourry’s knees wobbled. _That was almost a purr…_ “Come to bed with me? Please?”

“Oh.” Zel stood with a lithe grace he didn’t know he had. Gourry bit his lips to hold back a whimper. Zel gazed at him curiously, his head tilted a bit to one side. He stepped in close; tentative and careful, as if testing the fit of their bodies. Gourry slipped an arm around his waist, but didn’t pull. Zel brought his left hand up slowly to trace the line of Gourry’s collarbone; looking up in surprise as Gourry lifted his chin with a sigh of pleasure, his long hair swaying against his naked skin. Zel let his hand slide downward, watching the tiny glints of gold that his tough fingertips couldn’t quite feel. Down to the bronzy-pink nipple, tracing the boundary where the skin changed both texture and color. Gourry writhed, leaning heavily on Zel’s shoulder.

“Zel…ahhh…bed… I don’t think I can stand for long if you do that…”

The look of complete astonishment on Zelgadis’ face struck Gourry to the heart. Gourry swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and took the chimera’s hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss the hard palm, then tugged him toward the bed. “Please, Zel…”

Bemused, Zel followed, let Gourry lay him down and settle beside him. “Touch me,” Gourry whispered into a long, sensitive ear, brushing his lips over the elegant tip. He held Zel’s hand against his heart, then guided him lower. 

Zel closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see his ugly, mottled hand on Gourry’s beautiful, perfect skin. But he could drown himself in the feel of that same skin under his hands, the swordsman’s mouth kissing him, the sound of Gourry’s quickening breath, liquid drumbeat of heart. His own heart a hammer, setting his entire body ringing. 

Gourry’s breath hissed between his teeth as he watched Zel’s hands move down his chest and arms, exploring, outlining each muscle, unerringly finding the keenest nerve pathways. He wanted to moan aloud, but Ardhan had also taught him to be quiet; walls and tents were thin, and there were always others nearby, trying to sleep. Zel’s lips nudged his chin, moved up to his cheekbone. Gourry turned his head, opened his mouth, slipped his tongue past the delicate, travertine lips into Zel’s mouth, mapping the contours of that warm, soft cave, wet and slick. He drew Zel’s tongue into his own mouth and sucked rhythmically, slow at first, then harder and faster, matching his pulse and the thrust of his hips as Zel’s hand found his cock. Gourry wrapped his arms tight around Zel’s neck, but spread his legs wide, encouraging that hand to wander. Refusing to relinquish the kiss, Gourry could only whimper into Zel’s mouth as the shamanist’s long, deft fingers painted spells with careful symmetry and intense detail, until Gourry needed to scream, but came instead, spilling over Zel’s hand. He clutched the shaman as a steady foundation as the spasms shook him, then gradually quieted.

Zel watched with wide, chatoyant eyes as Gourry’s body relaxed, damp with sweat, tendrils of the long, golden hair clinging to his skin enchantingly. Sapphire eyes gazed up at him half-lidded; strong lips parted and swollen from the fierceness of their kissing shaped his name. Zel shivered, and only then noticed his own pulling ache. 

Gourry reached up and traced Zel’s jawline, moving over the imbedded plates of stone. He pushed the wire hair away so he could see Zel’s entire face at once; as he’d never seen it before – Zel hid as much behind his hair as that hood and mask. It was a fine-featured face, but stirringly handsome. Gourry had long ceased thinking about “human” or “chimera” or “golem” or “demon”; this was just Zel. 

_Zel, who is poking me in the stomach…definitely have to take care of that…_ Gourry rolled him over and knelt between his legs, rubbing his hands over the slim, marble-smooth thighs, reaching around to squeeze Zel’s buns. He wanted to slide himself onto that long, slippery cock and go wild; just the thought of straddling Zel’s narrow hips was making him hard again already. But he wanted to see if he’d been imagining things, earlier… 

So he pressed his hands up Zel’s legs, over his hips, to knead the surface of his stomach. Zel’s flesh only gave a little, muscle and sinew contracting and lengthening but without the usual sense of tensile elasticity. Gourry pressed harder, digging in with his thumbs, moving up to pinch his small, pebble-like nipples, then stroking firmly down to his hips, running his thumbs over the crest of the bones, then going back up to the chest. Back and forth, leaning into the pressure, sometimes raking his nails over the stone skin, until Gourry was breathless and Zel was thrashing and tearing the sheets. Gourry spread his hands across Zel’s hips, bringing them inward slowly, brushing the chimera’s balls lightly; he grasped the base of his cock and squeezed a little, pulsing up the shaft, then back down. Zel’s hips arched up off the bed. 

_Just a little more… And I’m gonna lose it, too…_ Gourry rubbed himself against the mattress as he leaned down to sip the droplets from Zel’s tip; licking quickly before the explosion came. Zel cried out, the sound escaping from low in his chest before he could stifle it; a gleaming jet of milky iridescence gushed upward, spattering them both. Gourry jumped – the fluid was barely short of scalding hot – and came shockingly hard; his own shout stilled only because he couldn’t inhale for a moment. 

Gourry fell, managing to roll and land beside Zel not on him, gulping air and blinking rapidly. After a few moments, he looked down at their bodies, still heaving like storm-waves on the ocean, speckled with softly glowing foam. _It does glow! Wow… I wonder if he knows…_ But Zel would probably compare it to cave fungus or something equally unpleasant. Remembering the tangy taste he’d gotten before, Gourry hurried to lap up all he could reach while Zel’s eyes were still closed. 

The fire was down to embers now, and the window was drafty. Gourry jumped up and snatched the blankets off his bed, then returned to the chimera, snuggling them both down into the warmth around each other. 

“Mmmmhh…Gourry…” Zel murmured. And fell into a peaceful, dreamless slumber. Gourry smiled and kissed his nose.

 

Gourry woke a little before dawn. The storm of the night before had cleared away, and there was a slight draft from the chimney. The fireplace had morning breath. Zelgadis slept, still and warm against Gourry’s chest. Gourry watched him, both enchanted and content. The chimera’s face was soft and childlike in the grey light; Gourry knew Zel was eighteen or nineteen now, but how old had he been when Rezo changed him? _Not that it matters. Zel is Zel._ Gourry smiled, enjoying the peace, and the pleasure of holding the shaman close while he had the chance. Zel’s body was like a statue breathing; mysterious and wonderful. He hoped the girls let them sleep in this morning. They weren’t on any particular quest, now, just wending their way eventually toward Seyruun, so the chances were pretty good. Lina liked sleeping in as well as the next person when she could…

_If I live through him waking up, it’ll be a great day._ The swordsman twined himself closer, moving slowly and carefully. _He was exhausted, strung out from the nightmares, and half asleep. I took advantage of him._

_It was worth it, though. Even if he fries me, it was worth it._ He risked a kiss on the chimera’s cute little nose. An irresistible spot, apparently. _And the ears…but that would definitely wake him up._

Zel slept on. Gourry watched his eyes move behind his lids, dreaming, but not a nightmare this time. After a while, the swordsman dozed off again.

 

Someone lay beside him, breathing softly, warm arms around him, holding him safe and gentle. But none of that made any sense whatsoever, so his mind ignored it completely.

Zel sat up and rubbed his face, scrubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked down at Gourry. Beside him. On the bed. Naked. The expression in his bright blue eyes hopeful but alert. Zel looked at himself, peeking under the covers to make sure. _That… last night… That was not a dream._ He was aware of Gourry’s eyes on him while he thought about that. _He’s waiting to see if I’m going to kill him._ Zel blinked and bit his lips. _What should I do? What do I_ want _to do?_

“Gourry?” He was shocked at the sound of his own voice; so small and frightened. Where had that come from? 

Gourry sat up immediately and put an arm around his shoulders. “Zel? You okay? Did you have another nightmare?” He’d seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but…

“No, I… What…?” There were about six different sentences all clamoring to get out at the same time. He shut his mouth and tried again. “I…” Still no good. Gourry’s expression was too open to be misinterpreted. Zel gave it up as a bad job, leaned forward and set his lips on the swordsman’s. Easier by far than words. 

Gourry responded with relieved fervor, cupping a hand behind the chimera’s head, grasping a shoulder with the other, pulling him closer. But when Zel made the slightest movement to pull back, he released him instantly.

_Don’t think for a second that I don’t want you as much now as I did last night,_ Gourry thought, watching him intently, panting. 

Zel stared back, blinking. The look on Gourry’s face now was making him blush. _He’s not kidding!_ The next thing he knew, his eyes fell closed, and he fell toward Gourry, and they caught each other by the mouth, and Gourry pushed him down, pushed his legs apart, pushed his arms over his head. Soft golden hair swept across his closed lids. And hands were on his body, a tongue on his tongue, all blown away at the sudden, unexpected shocks of contact as Gourry’s cock brushed against his. Zel’s hips lifted off the bed. 

_Ahh, so that’s where you want me to touch you, huh?_ Gourry was more than happy to oblige. He managed to stop on his way down just long enough to suck on Zel’s nipples, making the chimera writhe. _This is so fun!_ It was sad, Gourry thought, that he was the first to touch him so. But he couldn’t deny that the thought thrilled him on a primal level. _I’m glad it’s me. Because all I want to do is make you happy, Zel._ At that thought, Gourry reversed his course, seeking the intimacy of Zel’s mouth. Kissing made everything very, very personal, face to face, and Gourry wanted to make sure Zel saw the hunger in his eyes. Zel made a soft noise, an almost-whimper, as Gourry plunged his tongue between the chimera’s sharp teeth. _Hmm. Can’t forget the other end…_ Gourry spread his legs over Zel’s hips, with one big hand grasping his own cock and Zel’s together, flexing his hips into this joining. He fell smoothly into a rhythm, keeping Zel quiet with his mouth. Zel caught on quickly, after a bit of awkwardness, matching Gourry’s movements as in a mirror, bringing his own right hand down to conjoin them further. 

With Ardhan, this was the sort of easy, comfortable lovemaking that Gourry could keep up for hours and hours, given the opportunity. But Zel made it an entirely different beast-with-two-backs. _He’s not only touching me, he’s touching himself at the same time._ Gourry had to slow down, relax tensing muscles. Not that Zel mightn’t have touched himself before; Gourry wouldn’t necessarily know about it. Zel was certainly displaying human desires now, and a man just couldn’t live without some kind of release. But Zel so hated his own body that either way was possible. 

Zel, immersed in both the kiss and wilder, nether sensations, let his other hand sneak down to join the first. He opened his eyes in surprise as Gourry moaned faintly – the first significant noise the swordsman had made – and broke off kissing, arching upward and supporting himself with both arms, now letting Zel maintain their heated contact. Suffused with a quiet amazement, Zel watched the golden young god moving above him, illuminated like one of Cepheid’s Own by the sunlight streaming in the window. Habitual patterns of thought and self-loathing were hard to break, but Gourry had sent him off on such a tangent he didn't even know where he was, in relation to his old self. There was Gourry, flushed and panting, skin gleaming and dewy with sweat from exertion; and his expression made the exertion resemble pain, and yet it wasn’t. He couldn’t mistake or misinterpret the endearments Gourry made with his lips and breath, so that only Zel’s acute hearing could detect them. He watched the splendid, powerful torso, drawn to the dark, erect nipples, the lines of muscle definition, the tender ellipse of navel; glad that he couldn’t see himself from this angle unless he lifted his head. But he could appreciate the lines of Gourry’s body now; the mathematical precision of his proportions, how beautifully everything fit and worked together, all sheathed in such supple warmness of glowing, translucent skin. 

Gourry slowed his movements, and bowed down to kiss Zel again, arching his back to touch his aching nipples to the chimera’s chest; he wanted to feel Zel’s hands on him, on his body, in his hair, but Zel’s hands were busy, and Gourry liked them where they were, too. _Decisions…_ Gourry kissed a line down the side of Zel’s slender throat, but couldn’t reach much farther down than that; his spine wasn’t quite that flexible. So he sped up his thrusting again, focusing on the burgeoning, rising tension in his groin, on the lovely hands and flawless cock that held him there, and the mind-blowing joy of knowing he’d gotten so far past the chimera’s armor. _Oh gods! I’m having sex with Zelgadis!_ And he came, jetting against the sort of hollow formed by the base of Zel’s cock and the two balls. Zel shuddered hard under him, baring his teeth and pressing his head deep into the pillows. Gourry drew back slightly, and saw only his own fluid dripping over Zel’s sac; but that sensation itself must have been something; he resolved to have Zel do the same to him some time. In the meantime, the iridescent droplets just emerging from Zel’s slit beckoned.

Gourry tossed his head to get his hair out of the way, delighting Zel, though he didn’t know it, and leaned in for another kiss before diving between the chimera’s legs. He discovered that though Zel’s cock was as slender as the rest of him, he could wrap both hands around the shaft, one atop the other, and still the glistening tip rose through his fingers like the swelling bud of some enchanted flower. Gourry devoured the sight of Zel’s bared flesh in sunlight for as long as he could…but Zel writhed his hips, in need, thrusting into Gourry’s hands, and the blue-green, shining bud pulsed – too much, too much, and Gourry fell upon it, engulfing it, tongue lashing, sucking hard. _I’m hungry! Give it to me, give it to me now, I want everything in you…!_ He pulled Zel up off the bed, swallowing thirstily though his mouth felt scalded by demon heat, Zel trying to stifle animal noises behind a bitten forearm. 

They collapsed in a tangle. Gourry was more than content to lie atop Zel’s smaller but sturdy body, panting. Zel’s hands found their way into the streamers of his hair, caressing Gourry’s ears and the back of his neck, then stilling slowly, following the slowing of their racing hearts.

Rectangles of sunlight warmed his back. Stone skin warmed his cheek, chest, belly, arms. Gourry didn’t ever want to move again. Only this moment mattered; past and future were easy to ignore, drowned in happiness. Breathing was the scent of earth and man with a touch of metal and alien spice. Touch and hearing gave him a deep heartbeat; a strong heart too long shuttered in a compactly muscled chest. His eyes remembered every glimpse of blue-green skin, silver-lavender hair, gleaming green-blue eyes. Everything was in his body – words were too high up, too far to bother swimming for; they didn’t matter. 

Zel lay utterly still; his thoughts kept breaking off at acute angles. Words chased themselves around in circles. _How can he…? What have I…? Why? If he can, then I…but… What does he…what can we…I just… He… No, I don’t…but… How? Why?_ He couldn’t find a way around it all to make anything make sense. It was a confusion of geometry, of perspective, of altitude, and it was giving him vertigo. The bed was swinging, the room was spinning, the world tilted on its axis… He stared at the ceiling, trying to right himself.

Gourry sighed. Immersing in the body was nice, but then the body tended to send out other signals…other things needing to be taken care of. He didn’t want to lose the moment; Zel could flit gone by the time he got back. But he really had to pee… And enjoying the moment was getting harder to do, his bladder just getting fuller and fuller, the longer he delayed.

“Zel?” The chimera’s hands twitched in startlement at the sound of his name. Gourry smiled a little. 

“Yes?”

Gourry propped himself up on his hands, catching Zel’s gaze and holding it deliberately. “Zel, I will be right back, ne? Please…please stay h--, oh, unless you have to go, too, I mean; I just didn’t want you to…please don’t leave me, okay?” He backed off the bed reluctantly, holding his hands out in entreaty. He grabbed his pajamas and donned them hurriedly, watching the shamanist all the while. 

Zel sat up, a bemused half-smile on his face. “Oh,” was all he said.

“Do you have to…?”

“No.”

“Oh. Okay, then. Stay put! Please…” Gourry backed out the door, glancing at Zel’s carefully folded clothing, harboring a brief, mischievous notion of stealing it. But forcing Zel to do anything was the last thing he wanted. The swordsman ran down the hall to the privy – accomplishing his mission as quickly as possible.

He padded back more slowly, afraid of finding the room empty; Zel hadn’t answered his request, had he… He slipped into the room, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor for a long moment. Then he looked up.

Zel was curled half in the covers near the foot of the bed, gazing up at him from around a pillow, hair much tousled, eyes deep and dark over a faint blush. Gourry bolted the door. 

Breathing unevenly through his mouth, Gourry slowly shrugged out of his pajama top, letting it fall to the floor. Zel shivered, not even blinking, blush intensifying. Finger-width by finger-width, Gourry inched the pajama bottoms down, watching Zel watching him. He stepped free of the soft cloth, standing open, unguarded before the chimera; arousal growing with each heartbeat. Zel sat up, releasing the pillow from his crushing grip, his own mouth open. The blanket slid down, exposing his lithe torso; Gourry took a step toward the bed. And another. Zel’s hands moved, like the kneading of a cat. Swallowing a moan, Gourry tossed his head, trying to get his hair out of both eyes, and took another pair of steely, controlled steps. 

Zel hadn’t been able to think clearly all morning, so he stopped trying. He shifted slightly, poised to spring.

Gourry read him correctly and held up a restraining hand, moving to the bed, closing the distance. A pounce would be too noisy…fun, but noisy. He crawled onto the mattress slowly, watching Zel watching him, and sat up at the head of the bed, one leg drawn up, knees angled out. He pulled his long hair up out of the way and clasped his fingers together behind his head. _Now. Look at me…don’t think or worry about yourself, just look at me…and come touch me…oh, yes, please come touch me…_

The chimera began a stalk towards him, but stopped, sitting back on his heels. Gourry caught his breath as Zel deliberately made a thorough survey. The swordsman felt a little like a leopard’s prospective dinner, but he didn’t mind; as long as Zel didn’t notice he was sitting in the sunlight – that the light shone translucent through his marble-like, blue skin, striking blinding rainbows from his too-bright hair, turning his eyes to jewels. Gourry drew in every unreal blink, every shift of slender limbs, turn of head, shimmer of hair, and the light playing over impossibly supple stone flesh as Zel crawled toward him again. Made by magic, made of magic – Gourry felt the shock of it when Zel brushed stone lips against his; little electric contacts as Zel turned his head one way and another, experimenting. Gourry meant to keep his eyes open, meant to never miss a single moment, but Zel pressed harder, opening his mouth, sucking and licking at Gourry’s lips, not yet penetrating beyond, not touching him anywhere else, though Gourry could feel the heat radiating off the chimera’s body. Gourry’s hands fell, fisting in the sheets; he pushed his chest forward, wanting Zel’s hands to touch him. 

Zel was involved with Gourry’s mouth. So sensitive and mobile, it had done such extraordinary things to him recently; kissing could easily become his chief sustenance. Why waste time eating when he could be kissing Gourry? He shifted position, wanting to approach from the other side now, amused by the side-effect of bumping noses. But as he moved, he felt other things, skin on skin. Hmm. Well there was a lot more to Gourry, wasn’t there. Yes, interesting things. Fingers…lovely wonderful strong fingers that could do lovely wonderful strong things. Powerful shoulders, chest…gleaming like taut satin. Nipples…oh, yes, definitely must do things with those in a bit…he’d wondered why males had them; now he knew. Embryonic atavisms be damned, nipples were more than that! How marvelous…ripples of muscle down the belly, making interesting paths for his eyes to follow; down to the navel – what a convenient stopping place. One could rest there for a while and still be making Gourry squirm; and wasn’t it amazing that anything he did could bring so much pleasure to another? That would bear thinking over, later. Now he was still making inventory of treasures; a line of faint gold to follow… farther down and farther… A nest of curls; Zel caught his lower lip between his teeth. Oh, golden curls, were they as soft as the long, heavy streamers up above? And nested in those curls…

The perfect, silky curve of warm, golden-pink flesh, moving gently with every heartbeat…it was impossible not to touch it.

Zel watched his hand trace over the shaft and suddenly had to swallow bile. He couldn’t bear to see his awful, corpselike flesh on Gourry. But if he used his mouth, as Gourry had, not his hands… He wriggled awkwardly, trying to find the proper angle from which to approach the problem. Gourry, perceiving his difficulty, lay back and spread his legs out of the way. Zel’s shimmery, lavender hair fell forward like metallic wings, concealing what Gourry most wanted to watch, but the feel of warm breath told him of the lips approaching, delicately tasting, curious, tip of tongue hot and wet, fastidious and thorough as a cat’s lapping a saucer of cream. 

Gourry opened his mouth wide, but permitted no sound to escape. He kept his voice behind his teeth, letting his hands wander instead, stroking Zel’s shoulders and ears, taking up a rhythm on the tapered ears when this brought a faint whimper from the chimera. He spread his legs wider as Zel’s fingers went exploring.

The rectangles of sunlight moved up the bed. The only sounds inside were ragged breathing and little lapping noises, faint shifting of the sheets. Birds sang outside, and the town rumbled to life with wagon wheels and horseshoes on cobblestones, vendors crying their wares and ordinary morning conversations. Gourry moved his hips.

“Zel,” he whispered. “Zel, I’m going to…” He thought it best to give a warning; he himself hadn’t really enjoyed his first mouthful, though he’d acquired the taste. _And Zel’s is different…_ He wanted more of that, but right now… He cupped a hand under Zel’s chin and lifted the chimera’s face to his own, initiating a deep kiss while his other hand guided Zel’s fingers to keep up the rhythm until the flowing warmth streamed out over them.

Curious, Zel looked down, and brought a dripping fingertip to his mouth. Gourry wished he could come again as that little pink tongue flicked out to taste. Zel tried not to make a face, but didn’t succeed. He met the swordsman’s gaze guiltily, but Gourry only smiled.

“Kinda bitter, huh?”

“Yes. A little.”

Gourry chuckled and snuggled Zel down alongside him as they both stretched out on the rumpled bed. Zel laid his head on Gourry’s shoulder, content to drape an arm across the swordsman’s ribs and relax, ignoring the pulsing of his own groin as easily as he usually ignored signals from his abhorred body. He lazily stroked a hand down Gourry’s chest…then belly…and lower…to play with the short golden curls, twining the raveled silk of it around his fingertips – manly hair he himself lacked. Gourry squirmed. Zel would have lifted an eyebrow if he had any. _More?_ He hadn’t given the possibility any thought before. He’d had certain physiological assumptions. But the Swordsman of Light was no typical male. _Neither am I, of course._ He started to laugh, softly.

Gourry smiled. “Eh?”

“Nothing.” He nuzzled Gourry’s jaw, licked a tender, pink earlobe.

“Nngh! …Ne, Zel… you have…aahhh… you have a nice laugh…” Gourry wasn’t sure he’d ever heard it before. The rest of that thought was interrupted; Zel’s kisses were wandering, moving down to the joining of neck and shoulder, shoulder and chest, taking an unexpected turn down his arm, hollow of elbow, inside of wrist…running his teeth carefully along the sides of Gourry’s fingers. The swordsman shivered.

_Zel…I don’t think I can… Oh. Well, I’ll be…I was wrong…_ He didn’t want to say anything aloud, didn’t want to interrupt as Zel kissed his palm and licked between his fingers, sucking on the tips one by one, swirling his tongue around them as he had Gourry’s cock earlier. He wanted to flip Zel over, straddle his hips and ride until the bed frame gave way, but Zel seemed to be having so much fun, discovering the joy in giving another pleasure. He lay more or less passive, only writhing as Zel tried this and that, covering Gourry’s skin with kisses and touches, licks and soft breaths, even carefully sweeping the ends of his hair down Gourry’s midline, to which the swordsman arched his back like a bridge. It took him a while to notice that Zel had wrapped a sheet around himself, hiding again.

When Zel’s mouth strayed too long over his groin, Gourry tried to put a stop to it; but the chimera held on to his thighs, engulfing Gourry’s tip, sucking gently and flicking his tongue into the slit, refusing to relinquish his position as Gourry came, shuddering and hoarse, almost agonizingly slow.

Gourry sat up swearing as Zel laughed and wiped his chin. _He’s doing this on purpose!_

“Your turn, sorcerer!” Gourry growled, shoving Zel back and down. Zel’s head hit the footboard, but only the wood dented. Unrepentant, Gourry tore the concealing sheet away and grabbed Zel’s wrists as if that would be enough to pin him. “Stop that. I want to see you, too.”

“Gourry…”

“No. You listen, Zel.”

Zel blinked up at him, waiting.

_Oh hell._ Gourry suddenly realized that arguing verbally with Zelgadis maybe wasn’t the best thing he could do. Words were Zel’s toys, not his. _Have to try anyway._ “Zel.” _How can I put this?_ A misstep could get him fireballed…or left cold and alone. “Zel, please let me touch you, and look at you.” He let all his own loneliness and frustration leak into his voice. They weren’t emotions he spent a lot of time with, usually, but they were there, he could call them up out of the pleasant fog of the “now” he usually lived in. And they were his best chance of getting through to Zel, because he didn’t want to come out and say how he didn’t care that Zel was a chimera – it was obvious that that mattered a great deal to Zel. And he didn’t want to bring Lina into this. 

Zel turned his face to the side, closing his eyes.

Gourry sighed and dropped an exasperated kiss on Zel’s shoulder. “Fine. Let me put it this way: you don’t get to be on top all the time. It’s more fun if we take turns. Got it?”

Zel blinked once, then started to laugh. “What is this, a game of toss-stones? Oh, that was an unfortunate metaphor…” But he was still laughing. 

Gourry looked down at him in astonishment; he’d never seen Zel laugh at himself…never seen Zel laugh before this morning, period. Giddy was a new one on him… _One thing’s for sure; I’m gonna enjoy this while it lasts!_ Grinning wickedly, he released Zel’s wrists and attacked his ribs.

But Zel only chuckled and put his hands behind his head smugly. “I’m not ticklish, Gourry.”

“What!? That’s not fair! Hey!!” He let out a yelp as Zel surged upward, tipping him over, tickling him in turn – and _Gourry_ was very ticklish…

The bed gave a protesting creak, loud enough to alarm both men into sudden silence. 

_Oh shit,_ Gourry mouthed, as they sat frozen for a moment. 

No pounding on the door or floor or walls or ceiling came, though; and Gourry gathered Zel into his arms, smiling into a happy kiss as they sank back down. Gourry stroked the hard lines of Zel’s body, caressing and kissing the shamanist into a quiet state of passion, a slow burn as the sunlight moved down to the floor. 

Gourry brought him to the edge over and over, only to back off, withdrawing contact for a few heartbeats. Zel rode the waves, higher and higher, understanding the game, but writhing, shaking violently as he came at last, tangling his hands in Gourry’s long hair, muffling his final shout in Gourry’s neck. Gourry lapped up the fluid hungrily – his stomach rumbled, but he ignored it. Cuddling Zel was more important. They basked in lassitude, almost falling asleep. The rectangles of sunlight narrowed to squares, then to bars, then disappeared, leaving them in bright dimness.

Gourry’s stomach grumbled again.

“Did you know your come glows in the dark?” He couldn’t help it. He hadn’t meant to tell, but…well, it was the neatest thing he’d seen since his father had shown him how to bring the light from the Hikari no Ken. (Lina’s Dragon Slave was neat, too; but that scared the hell out of him more than anything else.)

Zel opened one eye. “My what?”

“Your…uh, stuff. You know.” Gourry made descriptive motions with one hand.

Zel blinked at this, a funny little smile tugging at his lips. “It’s called semen, Gourry.”

“Right! That.” Trust Zel to know some clinical term… “It glows! And it has all these different colors…”

Zel made a face. “That’s disgusting.”

Gourry sat up and hit him with a pillow. “No it’s not! It’s really pretty!”

“You’re hallucinating,” Zel said, lifting the pillow calmly off his head. 

“Am not.” Gourry resisted the urge to start a pillow fight, but only just. Zel’s hair would make mincemeat of the pillows, and then they’d have to explain feathers everywhere… “We could close the shutters and I’ll show you…” Forgetting the shutters, he pushed Zel’s legs apart and grasped his cock, running his thumb over the tip until it rose, and Zel squirmed, gasping. Gourry stroked the shaft firmly, his own hips jerking with the motion, and leaned down to take Zel’s tip into his mouth…

At that moment there was a loud hammering at the door, and familiar female yelling. “Are you two still in bed?? How lazy can you get?”

Zel leapt for the door, barricading it with his heavy body, legs braced well apart. This pose was too much for Gourry. “What do you – nngh! – want, Lina?”

“I want you two to get up, already. It’s almost noon!”

Gourry snorted so hard Zel was sure he’d done himself a damage; there were things a person’s upper respiratory system was simply not designed to do…

Lina banged on the door again. “Come on, you guys, I’m not kidding!” 

“We kno-ow,” Zel singsonged, letting exasperation color his voice clearly. Gourry wasn’t capable of speech at the moment. 

“Well, hurry it up! I’m starving!” She stomped away.

Zel thumped his head against the door as Gourry took him in to the hilt. _Gods! How does he do that?_ He touched Gourry’s hair, not daring to grab anything more firmly. His hips twitched, wanting to buck and thrust as Gourry’s tongue pressed against the underside of the base of his shaft. But thrusting now would knock against the door, and that would be...embarrassing. Gourry solved this in a way that nearly made Zel’s knees buckle. The chimera held himself motionless by sheer force, while the tall blond’s head moved rhythmically. Gourry’s fingertips crept up his thighs, seeking the hidden space behind Zel’s balls. Zel’s hips came off the door, his back arching, stone skin grating against the wood audibly.

_Whoops, maybe not such a good idea after all._ Gourry withdrew and stood up, setting his hands on the smaller man’s shoulders and pushing him back towards the bed. He had Zel kneel on the mattress, and got up close behind him, wrapping his arms around the slender chimera’s body, grasping his equally slender cock with both hands. “Watch,” he whispered into a tapered ear.

Zel shuddered, eyes firmly closed. “No…”

Gourry moved Zel’s body with his hips; a snake dance, a swaying rope, waves building… “Watch.” He pressed his cheekbone to Zel’s temple, bared the side of the chimera’s throat. He let his breathing catch the rhythm of their bodies.

“Gourry…no…” Aventurine eyes stayed closed. Turquoise lips were parted. The waves rolled higher.

“Watch…please…” He held on tighter and kissed Zel’s neck, collarbone, shoulder. His breath hissed through his teeth. 

Zel’s head fell back; he clutched at Gourry’s arms. “Damn, you’re stubborn.”

Gourry laughed low in his chest, disrupting the rhythm, but the shaking made Zel gasp. “So are you, Zel. Just watch.” He ran his lips over Zel’s jaw, moving a little faster, squeezing tighter. His own eyes fell shut for a moment. “Just once…please…for me…”

“…No…” But the moan was tinged with regret this time. _Gourry…I can’t! If I look at myself, I won’t be able to do what you want me to see._ He turned his head, nuzzling Gourry’s cheek, seeking his mouth, capturing it in a fierce kiss to lose himself in the cresting waves. Connection, disassociation; Zel almost laughed at the irony – in order to find release, he had to abstract his mind, let his body find its own way to ecstasy; and yet the concentration needed was akin to working complex magics. He felt Gourry’s arms clench – _he’s strong!_ – and hot droplets patter between his legs. _Oh, Gourry…_ Zel doubled over, choking on a cry; his own fluid searing the headboard, a single tear searing his cheek. 

They collapsed against the footboard, more or less still in embrace, sweating and limp; even Zel’s body slack and helpless in Gourry’s arms. Racing hearts slowed, breathing steadied. Zel snored softly for a moment, then stirred; Gourry smiled and settled him amid what was left of the bedclothes. He curled himself around the smaller man, happily letting one hand come to rest on the firm curve of Zel’s rear. 

 

Gourry’s stomach rumbled loudly.

He lifted his head and glared down at himself; he had no idea how long they’d been dozing this time. Zel sat up and grinned at him, leaning down for a quick kiss before getting up and hunting around the room for his clothing. 

“Come on, Gourry, we might as well join the rest of the party downstairs before you starve to death.”

Gourry sighed. “Couldn’t we have something brought up…?”

Zel tied his trousers firmly and pulled on his shirt. “Oh, yes, I’m sure Lina’d be glad to accommodate us.”

Gourry groaned and pulled a pillow up off the floor to cover his face with. “Lina…”

Zel concealed a flinch by slinging his cloak about his shoulders. “Yes. Lina. Where did my gloves get to?” Lina. Who was beginning to show signs of being in love with Gourry. Zel was inexperienced… _had been_ inexperienced, not blind. He found his gloves with his boots, and pulled both on sharply.

Lina. Who had treated him like a human being long before he had learned to do the same. She had been an annoyance, another obstacle, an object of mild entertainment, and even a decoy to enable their escape from Rezo. And she was now the fiery will of their group. As Gourry was the heart. _And what am I?_

“Gourry. I should leave before this gets any more complicated…”

“Too late.”

Zel chuckled and ducked his head. Then he thought about it again and stared at the swordsman searchingly. “It is too late, isn’t it.” He sat heavily on the edge of the mattress, being careful not to upset the bed entirely.

Gourry sat up and kissed him desperately. “Yeah, it is.”

They sat on the bed, foreheads and noses touching. Just holding each other for a while.

“Gourry,” Zel whispered. “You…understand, don’t you? All the reasons why I leave?”

The swordsman sighed. “Yeah. I guess. And you know why I stay.”

Zel stroked Gourry’s hair tenderly. “She needs you. She may not completely realize it herself yet, but she does. And you need her. A complementary pair…” He looked up and met deep-sky eyes.

_You’ll find someone to be that way with, Zel. And you already have us…me…_ Gourry wanted to beat that into him, but it wouldn’t do any good. “You always find us. Or we find you. When we need each other.” He pulled the chimera into one last passionate embrace. Then let him go.

Zel flitted to the window. How he could be so heavy and yet move so fast never failed to amaze Gourry. “Ja ne, Zel.”

“Ja.” Wind blew the curtains through the window, and he was gone.

“But he’ll be back.” Gourry smiled, cat-wise. Stretching languorously, he got up, got dressed, and went whistling downstairs to see whether Lina had left him anything for breakfast.

“Ohayo gozaimasu, Gourry-san” Amelia piped at him as he joined them at a table heaped with platters both empty and full; the frightened inn staff were still bringing dishes out as soon as the food was prepared. Lina was on her fourth course and not finished yet.

“Morning Amelia, Lina.” Gourry couldn’t keep the smug tone out of his voice, so he didn’t even try. He stretched again, but no joints popped; he felt uncommonly energized and limber, completely satisfied with the world and everything in it. He ate everything in reach with slow enjoyment, even letting Lina have anything she contested with him over.

Amelia, having already eaten as much as she could hold, watched Gourry’s smirking, relaxed demeanor, and Lina’s increasingly irritated one with some alarm and not a little bafflement. And then it occurred to her to ask, “Gourry-san, where’s Zelgadis-san?”

Lina slammed her knife and fork on the table, making the dishes, and Amelia, jump. “Yeah! Where IS Zel, anyway?”

Gourry’s mind was elsewhere. He’d been a little concerned that Zel had left without having anything to eat, but then realized how good a hunter Zel was, when he had to be. No ordinary prey could escape him once it was in his sight. _Oh, beautiful and dangerous is my love; keen and deadly are his eyes… I’m a rabbit in his hands, he caught me so swiftly…I don’t have the strength to escape. Ah, he burns me with his thighs…whoops, I mean fires, heh… He cooks me ‘till I’m hot and golden all over, done to a turn…and he eats me slowly, with my juices running down his chin…_ This last thought gave him tight trousers quite suddenly. Gourry squirmed, both embarrassed and still rather pleased with himself. “What, Lina? Did you ask me something?”

Lina looked like she was going to burst a vessel any second. “Where. Is. Zelgadis? Jellyfish-brains!” She threw a link of sausage at him for good measure.

Gourry caught it happily in his mouth, then decided to eat this slowly, too, savoring every morsel, given the delightfully reminiscent shape… 

Lina made a face; she and Amelia both found themselves blushing, though Lina wasn’t sure why. Something about the way Gourry was eating that sausage was…was… well, just Not Right, somehow. “I SAID; WHERE is Zelgadis??”

“Oh. Mm. Well, he left already this morning. You know how he is. Our big problem with the Copy’s over, so he’s back to his search.” Gourry realized he didn’t care whether Zel ever found a “cure” or not; all that mattered was whether or not Zel was happy. And Zel enjoyed his solitary searches. After who knew how many years of enslavement to the original Rezo, he must find freedom intoxicating. 

“Oh no!” Amelia cried, clasping her hands together.

“What!!?? Gourry, you were right there in the room with him! And you just LET him get away???”

And even the way he liked to play “Dark and Mysterious Swordsman”. That must have been a boyhood wish, cruelly interrupted. “Hm? But, Lina, how could I stop him?” _Even if I wanted to…which I do, really. If he stayed, we could…but then we’d have to hide all the time from the girls, and…well, maybe it is better if he goes for a while._ A reunion then would be all the sweeter. 

Lina was still haranguing him, aided and abetted by Amelia, who was convinced it was Unjust to allow Zelgadis-san to Wander the World all Alone. Gourry finally blinked himself out of his own thoughts just as they were winding down. He put both elbows on the table, and leaned his chin on his interlaced fingers. “Gee, Lina,” he said, smiling sweetly. “Why are you so upset?”

Lina shut up abruptly.

“Do you miss him that much, when he’s gone? I can understand that. He’s awfully handsome, even if he doesn’t think so.”

Amelia shrank back in her chair, not daring to make a sound, hoping Gourry wouldn’t notice her. There were questions on this subject she herself had no wish to answer, certainly not in public. 

“You and he are a lot alike, ne. I’ve seen how you two talk together, all quiet and serious. He’s the only one with the brains to keep up with you most of the time.”

Lina was starting to sputter.

“So I can understand why you’d be upset.” Lina’s cherry blush told him he was closer to the mark than he’d meant to be. Astonished, he found himself stabbed by a spike of jealousy, though he couldn’t figure out who he was jealous _of_. “Especially when he didn’t tell _you_ goodbye…when he didn’t give _you_ a goodbye kiss!”

That did it. 

“GOURRY NO BAKAAAA!”

Gourry was already up and running, taking Lina’s retribution out into the street, where she’d do less collateral damage; that way it was possible they could return to this inn in the future…

“FIIIRRRREBAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!!!!!!”

“OUCHIEEEEE!!!”

Amelia sighed and finished her tea.

**Author's Note:**

> So this isn't SUPER early in my smut-writing career, but you can tell I like certain words already. And certain kinds of ideas about fun sex. Like penetration isn't necessary, frottage is fun, and people with bodies that are not strictly human can have all kinds of wonderful differences to play with. 
> 
> According to Word I wrote this 16 years ago. Good god.
> 
> (If I were to do it over, I would be more clear about consent, and be perhaps a little less acerbic with the girls.)


End file.
